Jean-Yves Berthou

Jean-Yves Berthou was appointed Deputy CEO for Territorial Strategy in October 2024. Following on from the installation of the Inria Centres of University since summer 2021, the DGD-PS aims to strengthen the collective dynamics of higher education, research and innovation that form the foundation of the Institute's territorial strategy. As such, its mission is to coordinate and steer the implementation of the Institute's site policy in all its dimensions: research, including European and international strategy, transfer and innovation, participation in training initiatives, articulation of support functions, and relations with local players. The mission of the DGD PS is to embody Inria's presence in the regions through the coordination and development of the Inria University Centers, by contributing to the reinforcement of the autonomy of universities and by actively participating in the experimentation of new forms of partnerships between Inria and universities for the benefit of research in and through digital technology. In particular through the Inria University Centers, it pilots the implementation of the Agency's ambition for “Digital - software, algorithms and uses” programs in close collaboration with the universities leading the ESR.

From February 2019 to September 2024, Jean-Yves Berthou headed the Inria center in Saclay. During this period, he set up the two components of the Inria center in Saclay, the Inria center of the University of Paris Saclay and the Inria center of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. During this period, the center has experienced strong growth. From 28 Inria teams in 2019, the center now has 42.

From 2015 to 2019, Jean-Yves Berthou held the position of Innovation Director within EDF's Transformation and Operational Efficiency Division, responsible for implementing an innovation approach. This approach resulted in the industrialization of over 250 innovations and the contractualization of some sixty partnerships with startups. From 2011 to 2015, Jean-Yves Berthou was head of the Numerical and Mathematical Department (NuMa) at the French National Research Agency (ANR), responsible for selecting, funding and monitoring research projects, as well as setting up European and international collaborations. From 1997 to 2011, he held various positions in EDF's research department. He was successively researcher, project manager, research team manager and then head of the Simulation program and the Information Technologies program at EDF R&D. These various missions naturally led him to collaborate with Inria, notably when he sat on the institute's evaluation commission between 2008 and 2011.